THE HOLY ROMAN ...
Church experts said it appeared to be the first time a pope had made such a direct apology. "This is really, really abnormal. It's never happened as far as I know."
It was not certain if the Pope's words would be enough to defuse a crisis that was beginning to look ominously like the one into which Islam's relations with the West were plunged by the Danish cartoon affair last year.
An Iraqi insurgent group threatened the Vatican with a suicide attack over the Pope's remarks, according to a statement posted yesterday on the Web.
Unfortunately, too many Muslims are only too quick to jump on any offense and use it as a pretext for violence, raising this question too: will the remarks focus terrorist attention on Catholic and particularly Vatican targets?
Here is a translation of the statement released by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Catholic Church's ecumenical representative, discusses the Vatican's relations with Muslims and the furor over the pope's recent remarks.
To judge from the reaction of our Muslim brothers, you would think Pope Benedict XVI had called for a new crusade to the Holy Land.
They are after Christianity’s leader again. Twice Muslim extremists tried to murder Pope John Paul II, and now they are trying to silence his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, this time with words instead of bombs and bullets (so far).
Benedict XII is blunter and more assertive than his predecessor, and if I were a practicing Catholic – which I am not – I would be glad of it. In an era dominated by relativism and political correctness, where all religions are supposedly equal and truth is a matter of opinion (usually someone else's), it is refreshing to see someone uphold what they believe and defend it against all comers.
Benedict is secure enough in his beliefs and intellectually confident enough to be able to engage in lively debate with such hostile interlocutors. He believes passionately that people of faith in general, and Catholics in particular, must either fight for their corner in the intellectual arena or shut up shop.
No surprises here. Ever since Cardinal Ratzinger was elected to succeed the late Pope John Paul II, I have been waiting for the old boy to let the mask slip and allow his real views to emerge.
The whole point of the reference, I think, was to suggest a Christendom under threat – both from without and within. Benedict XVI is trying something very difficult, thinking he needs to instill enough backbone to allow people to be strong and confident in who they are without making them arrogant and cruel.
... EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
Germany's largest far- right party made further inroads Sunday in the country's economically fragile east, winning parliamentary seats in a state election in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, the home constituency of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Extreme right parties will now be represented in 3 of Germany's 6 eastern states.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has proposed setting up uranium enrichment centres under UN control to end nuclear disputes like the one over Iran. Steinmeier said such centres could be used by several nations and placed under control of the UN's nuclear watchdog.
[WAR: I don't remember if I've stated it in the newsletter yet, but when we attack Iran we will also be indirectly declaring war on Germany (among other countries). Then this will eventually lead to Germany attacking the US (first with an EMP above PCG HQ) and starting Jacob's Trouble.]
The German navy will soon be stationed off the coast of Lebanon. That's a development sure to have an impact on Arab perceptions of Germany, which is shifting from being a widely respected observer in the region to actively intervening in the Arab-Israeli conflict. But can Berlin hold Arab sympathies while clearly committing itself to protecting Israel?
MIDEAST/AFRICA/ASIA
Asked if he believes the Jews have the right to a sovereign state, he said, "We do not oppose it. In any country in which the people are ready to vote for the Jews to come to power, it is up to them. In our country, the Jews are living and they are represented in our Parliament. But Zionists are different from Jews."
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday that the world may have as little as "a few months" to avoid a nuclear Iran and called for sanctions. "The crucial moment is not the day of the bomb. The crucial moment is the day in which Iran will master the enrichment, the knowledge of enrichment."
The US government is planning to launch a diplomatic blitz on Monday regarding the Iranian nuclear issue at the United Nations headquarters. And while the US is exerting diplomatic pressure, the Pentagon is preparing for a possibility that President Bush will eventually instruct the army to attack Iran. Time Magazine published details regarding a possible attack, based on talks with military sources.
HOUSE OF ISRAEL
Many of the most prominent neocons are obsessed with being viewed as the next FDR. And they keep insisting that "we" must enter what they call World War Three.
It will be hard in an election year, but if the Republicans stand firm, and Democrats insist on the needed changes, they might just require Bush to recognize that he is subject to the same restraints that applied to every other president of this nation of laws.
Not content to rest with their betrayal of the once-central concept of small government, at the behest of George W. Bush, Republicans have likewise abandoned one of the core hallmarks of civilization itself.
MISC
Satellites to give early warning of solar explosions that cause electrical chaos.
